MATCH REPORT: The Springboks recorded their first win in Dublin in 13 years after a drama-filled encounter against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

With their big pack of forwards laying the platform, the visitors outscored Andy Farrell’s side by four tries to one on their way to a 24-13 victory.

The showdown had everything, including a 20-minute red card and four yellow cards for Ireland during the 80 minutes. The multiple TMO reviews added to the tension.

The result means it is four wins from four matches on tour for Rassie Erasmus’ side ahead of their final match against Wales in Cardiff.

It was a fiery start by both teams, but it was the Springboks who opened the scoring in the fourth minute after Damian Willemse produced a spectacular finish in the corner after some great running and passing by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cheslin Kolbe and Pieter-Steph du Toit.

A couple of minutes later, the Irish team and their supporters thought that Feinberg-Mngomezulu should’ve got his marching orders for a hit on Tommy O’Brien. However, the officials ruled that the initial contact was shoulder to shoulder.

The Irish also thought they scored a try in the 20th minute when Tadhg Beirne crashed over the Bok tryline, but it was ruled out moments later for James Ryan’s dangerous clean-out on Malcolm Marx in the build-up.

Ryan was given a yellow card and after an off-field review, it was eventually upgraded to a 20-minute red card.

The Springboks also had a try disallowed in the 26th minute after a forward pass was spotted earlier in the play.

After a period of sustained pressure and with their pack dominating, the Boks finally got that second score with Cobus Reinach sniping through Ireland’s defence to go over the tryline.

In a further blow for the home side, flyhalf Sam Prendergast was given a yellow card for his team’s repeated offside infringements.

However, despite being down to 13 men, Ireland showed power and aggression to pierce through the Boks’ defence with Dan Sheehan powering over for a converted try in the 37th minute.

There was more drama before the break when Jack Crowley (cynical play at the breakdown) and Jack Porter (scrum infringements) both saw yellow, reducing Ireland to 12 players on the field.

The Springboks’ dominance in the scrums was eventually rewarded with a penalty try to end a remarkable first half.

The Irish made it a nine-point ball game early in the second half with a Prendergast penalty goal before their fans were silenced again after Feinberg-Mngomezulu showed his skill by fending off Jamison Gibson-Park and then running in for his team’s fourth try.

The Bok flyhalf missed the conversion before Prendergast added a three-pointer to make it an 11-point game with 25 minutes left on the clock.

After multiple scrum penalties due to the Boks’ power, Paddy McCarthy became the fourth Ireland player to be yellow-carded.

Ireland were under huge pressure by the Springboks in the final quarter, but their bravery on defence stopped the visitors in their tracks when it mattered most.

The home side also had their fair share of opportunities in the final minutes, but they just couldn’t find a way to the tryline.

Player of the match: Pieter-Steph du Toit was immense and showed why he was nominated for the Player of the Year award. Plenty of praise should also go to the Bok props for their scrum dominance. However, we gave it to Jasper Wiese, who was incredible in all facets of the game. He was a demon at the breakdowns and carried the ball with great power.

Moment of the match: Take your pick. There were great tries and some big controversial moments regarding discipline.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Try: Sheehan
Con: Crowley
Pens: Prendergast 2

For South Africa:
Tries: Willemse, Reinach, penalty try, Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Con: Mngomezulu

Twenty-minute red card (upgraded from yellow): James Ryan (Ireland, 20′ – foul play, dangerous clear-out)

Yellow cards: Sam Prendergast (Ireland, 34′ – repeated offside infringements); Jack Crowley (Ireland, 40′ – cynical play, interfering at the breakdown); Jack Porter (Ireland, 40 + 3 – repeated scrum infringements); Paddy McCarthy (Ireland, 63′ – repeated scrum infringements); Grant Williams (South Africa, 79′ – repeated infringements)

Teams:

Ireland: 15 Mack Hansen, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Paddy McCarthy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Cian Prendergast, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Tom Farrell.

South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Boan Venter.
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Andre Esterhuizen, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok.

Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson (England) & Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (England)